No Bravery
by talkingtothesky
Summary: A very depressing oneshot. Good doesn't always trumph over evil.


**No Bravery**

Summary: This is a one-shot about what could happen if the good side loses the war. The song is 'No Bravery' by James Blunt.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. Good job, too. I don't have nearly as good an imagination as she does. Lyrics are by James Blunt.

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'H- he- he g-got Harry.' Ginny wailed in between near hysterical sobs. Molly Weasley's eyes turned to her youngest son, as if he would contradict his sister. Pale as ice, he raised his eyes to meet hers.

'He killed him, Mum.' Ron whispered. 'Harry's gone.'

The alarm rang for the fifth time that day in the Auror office, whistling through the empty cubicles.

'Exploded gas tank in Hemel Hempstead.' read the display on the wall. 'Needs urgent attention. Causing major disruption to Muggles. '

There was no one there to answer to the call. They were all attending to another horrid incident miles north from there…

'Hello?' Tonks called desperately through the rubble. 'Is anyone there?' There was no reply.

She jumped when something tugged on the back of her cloak. Tonks turned to see a little girl standing there, tears flowing freely down her bruised face.

'Have you seen my Mommy?' she asked.

She looked no more than six.

_There are children standing here,_

_Arms outstretched into the sky,_

_Tears drying on their face,_

_He has been here._

Tears streaming down her own face, Tonks scooped the little girl up in her arms and croaked:

'Come on; let's get you away from here.'

_Brothers lie in shallow graves,_

_Fathers lost without a trace,_

_A nation blind to their disgrace,_

_Since he's been here._

There's hardly anyone left. Only a few of the Order remain.

Fred and George Weasley died together in their shop, courtesy of Lucius Malfoy.

Their father disappeared weeks ago. He went out to find his only daughter, and never came back.

Molly died of shock when she was told that four of her sons had died in one day.

Hermione Granger. Stabbed to death in a Muggle library.

Mad-Eye Moody. Poisoned by his own spiked hip-flask.

Mundungus Fletcher, ripped to shreds by a cursed cauldron.

Neville Longbottom, tortured to death by the same Death Eaters who drove his parents into insanity…

The list goes on…

Remus Lupin stepped through the front door of Order Headquarters to universally relieved faces. Their smiles were soon to falter, however, when he delivered the bad news.

'He's taken St. Mungo's.'

_And I see no bravery, _

_No bravery in your eyes anymore,_

_Only sadness._

Could it get any worse?

This was the question on everyone's lips as the Dark Side continued to rip everything apart. The resistance was weakening.

_Only sadness_.

_Houses burnt beyond repair, _

_The smell of death is in the air,_

_A woman weeping in despair says_

_He has been here._

Ron felt the crunch of bone under his feet as the compressing feeling of Apparition relinquished its hold on him. Looking down, he saw a sight only too familiar to him by now.

Deteriorating bodies lying everywhere, detached limbs broken off by the force of explosions. Lamp posts snapped cleanly in two, trees sprawled across what had once been a road. And the people, their faces…full of pain and despair.

_Tracer lighting up the sky, _

_It's another families turn to die,_

_A child afraid to even cry out says_

_He has been here._

The Dark Mark floated above the lot, rearing it's repulsive head.

Once again, Ron was too late.

_And I see no bravery,_

_No bravery in your eyes anymore,_

_Only sadness._

He would have shut the door behind him, but it had been blown off its hinges long ago. He stared into the kitchen of his childhood home, though it was barely recognisable. The far wall was no longer standing, the fireplace reduced to cinders. Charlie's eyes fell on a brightly coloured piece of material trapped around the legs of an upside down, splintered chair.

Mum had been knitting another jumper.

_There are children standing here,_

_Arms outstretched into the sky,_

_But no one asks the question why,_

_He has been here._

'Yet another town just about obliterated.' sighed Lupin as he sat on an upturned box he'd found. Tonks sat across from him, holding a bag full of chips.

'People are losing hope.'

_Old men kneel and accept their fate,_

_Wives and daughters cut and raped,_

_A generation drenched in hate,_

_Yes, he has been here._

'No, no, please…' Ollivander begged of the men in black cloaks. He was kneeling on the floor of his shop, begging, begging for forgiveness for whatever he had done.

But there was no mercy to be found here.

Tonks looked at him, offering the bag of chips. Lupin declined, though politely.

'You've got to eat something.' she said quietly.

Remus looked tired. Tired, and far, far too thin. She had the feeling he was deliberately starving himself.

_And i see no bravery, _

_No bravery in your eyes anymore,_

_Only sadness._

With a cruel laugh and a flick of his wand, Lord Voldemort disappeared once again, leaving yet more death and destruction behind him.

He has been here, too.

_And I see no bravery, _

_No bravery in your eyes anymore,_

_Only sadness._

Trapped beneath the rubble, something wedged firmly into her arm, the pain pinning her to the ground, Ginny wondered if her family already thought her dead.

No one had come to save her, anyway. Not this time.

_Only sadness._

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_A/N: _This was written around New Year's Day this year, which is why there is a mention of Hemel Hempstead. I don't intend for this reference to upset or offend anyone, but if it does I apologize.

Reviews welcome!


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